Structured Trading Courses

Four structured tracks

Courses on TradeHQ are sequential tracks, not a pile of articles. Each track states what you will be able to do at the end, what you need to know first, how the lessons build on one another, and who the track is not suitable for. Every lesson ends with key takeaways, cited sources and a short quiz, and each completed track awards a badge.

Options Trading Fundamentals (Intermediate, 5 lessons)

A structured, YMYL-compliant introduction to how listed options actually work — from what a call contract is, through the Greeks that drive its price, to defined-risk spread strategies you can safely practice on the simulator.

• What Is an Option? Calls & Puts Explained — An option is a contract that gives you the right — but not the obligation — to buy or sell 100 shares at a set price by a set date.
• The Greeks — Delta, Gamma, Theta & Vega — The four Greeks quantify how an option's price reacts to stock moves, volatility, and the passage of time.
• Defined-Risk Spreads — Verticals & Iron Condors — Spreads combine two or more options to cap both loss and gain — the safest way to learn options trading.
• Implied Volatility & Trading Around Earnings — IV is the market's forward-looking volatility forecast — and the single biggest driver of option prices.
• Options Risk Management — Sizing, Rolling & Cutting Losses — The single reason 90% of retail option traders lose money is size, not strategy. Fix sizing first.

Futures & Derivatives (Intermediate, 5 lessons)

A ground-up guide to exchange-listed futures — how contracts are specified, how margin actually works, why term-structure matters, and how hedgers and speculators interact on the CME.

• What Is a Futures Contract? — A futures contract is a standardised, exchange-traded agreement to buy or sell a fixed quantity of an asset at a set price on a set future date.
• Margin & Leverage in Futures — Futures margin is a performance bond, not a loan — and it's why one bad trade can wipe out an account overnight.
• Contango & Backwardation — Term Structure Explained — The shape of the futures curve tells you what commercial hedgers actually expect — the single most important concept for commodity traders.
• Hedging with Futures — The Original Use Case — Hedging is why futures exist. Airlines hedge fuel; farmers hedge harvests; funds hedge equity beta.
• Micro Futures — The Right Way to Start — Micro contracts are 1/10th the size of standard e-minis, making futures accessible without abandoning leverage discipline.

Macro Reading for Traders (Intermediate, 5 lessons)

A trader-focused tour of the macro variables that move markets — inflation prints, central-bank policy, the yield curve, and the dollar index — with a concrete playbook for reading them together.

• Reading CPI — The Number That Moves Every Market — CPI is the most-watched macro release on the calendar — the reason every trader sits on the same clock at 8:30 AM ET.
• The Fed & FOMC Cycle — How Rates Get Set — The FOMC meets eight times a year and every trader adjusts positioning around it.
• The Yield Curve — The Bond Market's Recession Alarm — An inverted yield curve has preceded every US recession in the last 60 years. It is the single most reliable macro signal.
• The Dollar Index (DXY) — The One Chart Every Trader Watches — The DXY drives everything from emerging-market equities to commodity prices to gold.
• Putting It Together — A Macro Dashboard for Traders — Individual macro variables are noisy. Together they form regimes — and regimes are what actually matter for positioning.

Trading Psychology Mastery (Beginner, 5 lessons)

The most sophisticated system in the world fails if the trader running it is emotionally compromised. This track teaches the cognitive biases, emotional dysregulation patterns, and concrete rituals professional traders use to stay in the game.

• Cognitive Biases Every Trader Must Know — Confirmation bias, anchoring, loss aversion — the mental shortcuts that quietly destroy trading edge.
• Revenge Trading & Tilt — The #1 Account Killer — Tilt is the emotional state where a trader tries to recover a loss immediately with larger, unplanned trades.
• The Trading Journal — Turning Data Into Edge — The journal is the single highest-leverage tool a trader has.
• Discipline & Daily Rituals — The Professional's Routine — Consistent P&L comes from consistent process.
• Handling Drawdowns — How Pros Stay Sane When It's Ugly — Every trader experiences drawdown. Pros don't self-destruct during it.

How to work through a track

• Do one lesson per session and take the quiz before moving on.
• Apply each lesson in the simulator the same day using $100,000 of virtual cash.
• Re-read the key takeaways a week later; recall beats re-reading for retention.
• Nothing in these courses is a recommendation. Educational simulation only — not financial advice.